(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Twenty-one year old Jack Wiegand completed his mission to break the current Guinness World Records™ title and became the youngest person to fly solo around the world on June 29th.

Jack’s journey to make history began years ago on his 13th birthday when he piloted his first introductory glider. On his 14th birthday, he became the youngest pilot in the Central California Soaring Club to solo a glider, and when Jack was 16, he soloed his first single-engine power plane.

A Fresno, Calif. native, Wiegand, now aged 21 years 7 days, broke the current record held by James Anthony Tan of Malaysia who was aged 21 years 344 days when he took the title in May 2013.

Jack Wiegand, 21, lands safely in Fresno, CA to become the youngest pilot to fly solo around the world.
Photo courtesy SOLO 20/13

Wiegand departed on this historical voyage from the Fresno Yosemite International (FAT) Airport and headed east making 22 stops - including one in Ketchikan on June 27th as he was on his return trip to his starting point of Fresno. Wiegand flew approximately 21,000 nautical miles, crossing three oceans and visiting 12 different counties.

Amidst the excitement and nerves to begin the record-breaking journey, Wiegand forgot one of his most important documents -- his passport. A fact, he only realized once when he arrived at his first international destination in Iqaluit, Canada, a remote town northeast of Hudson Bay. After searching his plane, the passport was discovered in the copy machine in his parent's home where Wiegand had made photocopies of his visas, identification and passport. The passport was sent via UPS and Wiegand was able to continue on his international route.

Weather delays kept Wiegand from flying from Japan across the Pacific Ocean to Alaska for more than three weeks. After receiving clearance for takeoff, Wiegand was able to ride a 70-knot tailwind and reached up to 280 mph during the almost 12-hour flight across the International Dateline. By the end of the mission, Wiegand circumnavigated the world in 58 days in a high-performance Mooney Ovation2 GX.

The title of the mission, SOLO 20/13, holds personal significance to Wiegand as it highlights some key elements of his journey as a pilot: he began flying at the age of 13, he took off on his SOLO flight in the year 2013, and was 20 years old when departed from Fresno for his mission to break the Guinness World Records™ title.

The SOLO 20/13 mission raised awareness and support for two charitable causes. These organizations are Big Brothers Big Sisters, invested in building relationships with children facing adversity, and the Ag Warriors project of the International Agri-Center, preparing returning veterans for careers in the agriculture industry.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

SOLO 20/13
http://www.solo2013.com/

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